Ford DuratorqTDCi/PeugeotHDi engine question

See my comments below on the thread marked Clavis gauge - that's for a TDDi which is the same engine with a different fuelling system.

In message , Bob Minchin writes

It's a belt but I believe its got a 150k mile/10 year life.

That's the warranty Ford give if you have a full *ford* service history. It's not the same as the life of the belt - I'd say the preudent service life is a good deal less than that.

Well I'll rephrase what I said. 150k miles is Fords recommended interval.

The owner can chose to replace it early just as he can with any other car.

Paul Giverin ( snipped-for-privacy@giverin.co.uk) wrote: : Well I'll rephrase what I said. 150k miles is Fords recommended : interval. : The owner can chose to replace it early just as he can with any other : car.

I bought a Puma 1.7 with 70k miles and full Ford service history 6 months ago. The handbook says the belt should be changed at 100k but this seems high to me. Where would I stand if I left it till 100k but it snapped before that? I was thinking I'll ask about getting it done at the 80k service to be on the safe side. Blair.

And anyone believing that, or relying on it, is probably quite likely to end up disappointed.

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."

In message , AstraVanMan writes

And why not?

15 years ago when cambelts were changed at 36k or thereabouts it would have been ludicrous to suggest that in the future they would last 100k but that's what's happened with current Ford Zetec engines reaching that without drama.

Paul Giverin ( snipped-for-privacy@giverin.co.uk) wrote: : writes : > I bought a Puma 1.7 with 70k miles and full Ford service history 6 : >months ago. The handbook says the belt should be changed at 100k but : >this seems high to me. Where would I stand if I left it till 100k but : >it snapped before that? I was thinking I'll ask about getting it done : >at the 80k service to be on the safe side. : >Blair.

: The info I have from a Ford web site suggests that the 1.4 Puma has a : 100k interval but the 1.7 has a 80k interval. You might want to confirm : that with your dealer though because the 1.7 is a zetec SE engine and : all other SE's have a 100k interval. Perhaps the VVT on the 1.7 makes a : difference. Do you have that website address handy? The service handbook I got with the car lists servicing schedules for all '97 Fords and recommends cambelt replacement at 100k for Zetec-SE engines. It doesn't mention engine size.

: I'm told that Ford will warranty the belt up to the recommended interval : if the car has been serviced by a Ford dealer at the correct intervals.

I'll mention it to them when I book the car in for it's 80k service.

Blair.

Paul Giverin ( snipped-for-privacy@giverin.co.uk) wrote: : >: The info I have from a Ford web site suggests that the 1.4 Puma has a : >: 100k interval but the 1.7 has a 80k interval. You might want to confirm : >: that with your dealer though because the 1.7 is a zetec SE engine and : >: all other SE's have a 100k interval. Perhaps the VVT on the 1.7 makes a : >: difference. :

Thanks. I've just phoned the dealer and they've confirmed that it's 80k or

5 years. I wonder if this has been changed from what was originally specified ... my Puma is one of the first ones (97-P). Looks like I should get it done soon, it's OK mileage wise (75k) but it's 7yo.

Blair.

Best to get it done ASAP for peace of mind. I has a friend who was discussing how he needed to get the belt done on his Renault Megane Scenic. It broke before he managed to book it in for the work. Cost £900 to repair.

How do you get to £900 for a job like this.....

Hold on - Main Dealer?

£75 quid per hour plus vat labour?

Cheers Dan.

You forgot "French" car.

The message from Paul Giverin contains these words:

Scary - if you're doing 20k a year in some Mondeos you're looking at nearly three quid a week running costs /just for cambelts/.

That's 0.7p/mile cambeltage!

When it says "£xxx (kit)" is that a fitted price? I'm guessing it is, and the word "kit" just tells you that the whole kit is fitted (i.e. tensioners etc.) and not just a new belt.

At the end of the day it's just one of many running costs of a car that needs to be accounted for. As a rule of thumb when I'm figuring out car/van running costs I allow £200 every 50k in general for relatively simple engines, or more in other cases (like the Audi!). For anything remotely modern I'll only go to a main dealer to get the cambelt done, mainly because I don't want to attempt something like that myself, and I find it hard to trust a lot of mechanics to do something like tighten the bolt holding the tensioner in place to the correct torque. Ok, so a main dealer muppet might well c*ck it up as well, but at least I've got more recourse that way.

With the Master I may well find a local mechanic to do it, as I think it's a fairly old design of engine, and a fairly safe design (not safe as in no bent valves if it snaps, more safe as in no known problems a la Ecotec and other such s**te).

On another note, when I had the 1.8 TDDI Fiesta van (2000 model) I couldn't get a straight answer, having asked various dealers, as to the correct cambelt change interval. According to that website it's 100k or 10 years, one dealer said depending on the exact type of belt fitted it could either be 60k or 80k, and the previous owner to me had it changed every 40k. I bought it with 95k on the clock and it expired (oil cooler problem) at 135k, but it was getting to the "I really really really must get it done extremely soon" stage, though if it's recommended at 100k then it's obviously a reasonable trouble-free design (in theory), so stretching from 60 to around

65k if I didn't manage to get it booked in wouldn't have been too big a risk.

Peter

-- "The truth is working in television is not very glamorous at all. I just go home on my own at night and sit alone and eat crisps."

Oh yes - silly me ;-)

Cheers Dan.